Formal Requirements

A contents page must be provided at the beginning of the extended essay and all pages should be

numbered. Please note that an index page is not required and if included will be treated as if it is not

present.

The introduction should tell the reader what to expect in the essay. The introduction should make clear to

the reader the focus of the essay, the scope of the research, in particular an indication of the sources to be

used, and an insight into the line of argument to be taken.

While students should have a sense of the direction and key focus of their essay, it is sometimes advisable

to finalize the introduction once the body of the essay is complete.

The main task is writing the body of the essay, which should be presented in the form of a reasoned

argument. The form of this varies with the subject of the essay but as the argument develops it should

be clear to the reader what relevant evidence has been discovered, where/how it has been discovered

and how it supports the argument. In some subjects, for example, the sciences, sub-headings within the

main body of the essay will help the reader to understand the argument (and will also help the student

to keep on track). In structuring their extended essay, students must take into consideration the expected

conventions of the subject in which their extended essay is registered.

Once the main body of the essay is complete, it is possible to finalize the introduction (which tells the

reader what to expect) and the conclusion (which says what has been achieved, including notes of any

limitations and any questions that have not been resolved).

Any information that is important to the argument must not be included in appendices or footnotes/

endnotes. The examiner will not read notes or appendices, so an essay that is not complete in itself will be

compromised across the assessment criteria.

The conclusion says what has been achieved, including notes of any limitations and any questions that

have not been resolved. While students might draw conclusions throughout the essay based on their

findings, it is important that there is a final, summative conclusion at the end. This conclusion(s) must

relate to the research question posed.

Students should use their chosen style of academic referencing as soon as they start writing. That

way they are less likely to forget to include a citation. It is also easier than trying to add references at a

later stage. For more information on this, refer to the guidelines in the IB document Effective citing and

referencing.

Writing the essay takes time but if students have used their Researcher's reflection space and reflection

sessions in a meaningful way they should be well prepared to develop their arguments.

The extended essay should be written in a clear, correct and formal academic style, appropriate to the

subject from which the topic is drawn. Given that the extended essay is a formally written research paper,

it should strive to maintain a professional, academic look.

To help achieve this, the following formatting is suggested.

• the use of 12-point, readable font

• double spacing

• page numbering

• no candidate or school name on the title page or page headers

• the file size must not be more than 10 MB. (Note that the RPPF is uploaded separately and is not part of

the overall file size of the essay.)

Submitting the extended essay in the required format will help set the tone of the essay and will aid

readability for on-screen assessment by examiners.

The upper limit is 4,000 words for all extended essays.

Please note: Examiners are instructed not to read or assess any material in excess of the word limit. This

means that essays containing more than 4,000 words will be compromised across all assessment criteria.

Given the holistic nature of the assessment criteria, students who write in excess of the word limit will selfpenalize

across all criteria. For example, in criterion B, any knowledge and understanding demonstrated

beyond the 4,000-word limit will be treated as if it were not present; in criterion C, analysis, discussion or

evaluation made beyond the 4,000-word limit will be treated as if the point had not been made.

Supervisors and students should be aware that the e-upload of extended essays will facilitate the

automatic recognition of a cut-off point for assessment. Students should ensure that they remain within

the word limit and should edit accordingly.

Please refer to the following guidance on what content should be included in the word count.

INCLUDED: Introduction, Main Body, Conclusion, Quotations, Footnotes and/or Endnotes that are not refernces

NOT INCLUDED: The Contents Page, Maps, Charts, Diagrams, Annotated Illustrations, Tables, Equations, Formulas, Calculations, Citations and References (Whether Parenthetical, Numbers, Footnotes or Endnotes), The Bibliography, Reflections on Planning and Progress Form, Headers

Presentation and overall neatness are important, and it is essential that illustrative material, if included, is

well set out and used effectively. Graphs, diagrams, tables and maps are effective only if they are clearly

labelled and can be interpreted with ease.

Any labelling should contain the minimum information to ensure the examiner understands the

significance of the map, chart, diagram or illustration. It must not include commentary, as this will be

considered as part of the essay discussion and thus included in the word count.

All such material that is incorporated into the extended essay must be directly related to the text and

acknowledged where appropriate. The use of photographs and other images is acceptable only if they

are captioned and/or annotated and are used to illustrate a specific point made in the extended essay.

Students should be advised to use illustrations with caution as excessive use may detract from the

discussion in the essay. They should only be used if they are relevant and appropriate to a point being

made as part of the argument of the essay.

The use of tables should be considered carefully and are only really appropriate in certain subjects. Tables

must not be used in an attempt to circumvent the word limit.

Students may wish to use the header function for their research question, so that it appears on each page.

This may help retain focus.

Footnotes and endnotes may be used for referencing purposes and if this is the case will not be included

in the word count of the essay. If information is contained in a footnote or endnote and is not a reference,

this must be included in the word count. In order to avoid confusion and unwittingly exceed the word

limit, students are advised to avoid using footnotes or endnotes other than for referencing purposes

unless it is appropriate.

One appropriate use of footnotes is for the placement of the original quotation (where the original

quotation is in a language other than the language of registration).

As footnotes and endnotes are not an essential part of the extended essay students must take care to

ensure that all information with direct relevance to the analysis, discussion and evaluation of their essay is

contained in the main body of it.

An essay that attempts to evade the word limit by including important material in footnotes or endnotes

will be compromised across the assessment criteria. Please note that footnotes and endnotes are added to

the word count as they are encountered.

Appendices are not an essential part of the extended essay and examiners will not read them, or use any

information contained within them, in the assessment of the essay. Students must take care to ensure that

all information with direct relevance to the analysis, discussion and evaluation of their essay is contained

in the main body of it. Appendices should therefore be avoided except in the following instances:

• an exemplar of a questionnaire or interview questions

• an exemplar of permission letters

• group 1, category 1 essays: copies of poems or short stories (of less than three pages)

• group 1, category 3 essays: excerpts from newspapers, advertisements and transcripts of speeches

• language acquisition, category 1 and 2: excerpts from newspapers, advertisements, transcripts of

speeches, etc

• language acquisition, category 3: excerpts or copies of poems or short stories (less than 3 pages)

• an external mentor letter, where one has been used

• raw data or statistical tables for experimental sciences (this should not include any analysis or

conclusions).

Students should not continually refer to material presented in an appendix as this may disrupt the

continuity of the essay and examiners are not required to refer to them.

Irrespective of the subject, the extended essay should be a complete piece of independent research,

modelled on an academic journal/research paper, which can exist and be understood on its own, without

the need to access external links, such as hyperlinks, or accompanying material such as DVDs.

Examiners will not access any material contained in an external source when assessing an essay. Material

that is pertinent to the argument being made must be contained in the essay itself to be considered by

examiners in their assessment of it.

As with appendices, if information central to the argument is included in the external link, it is treated as

though the point has not been made and as such could affect different criteria, for example, criterion C

(critical thinking), depending on the quality of the other analyses.